Aerobic And Anaerobic Bacteria

Anaerobic Bacteria

The first and most common bacteria would be the anaerobic bacteria, Obligate Anaerobes. They are capable of living in places void of O2 and most will die in the presence of oxygen. Some agile bacteria are Facultative Anaerobes. These are able to live both in and out of an oxygen laden atmosphere but they are rare microbes. Clostridium, for example, is one bacterial genes that does not need oxygen to survive. Everyone’s smelled anaerobic decomposition inside the refrigerator on occasions. So to, we have all smelled the offensive odor of this culprit coming from an old garbage can. Byproducts of their anaerobic decay involve hydrogen sulfide which smells like rotten eggs, butyric acid which smells like vomit, ammonia which will set our nostrils reeling, and vinegar. Anaerobic conditions foster pathogenic bacteria and kill off beneficial aerobic bacteria.

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Aerobic Bacteria

The second bacteria type and the most important for live organic horticulture, is the aerobic bacteria, or Obligate Aerobes. Though respiration is crucial to life, the precise function that oxygen plays to maintain life is not readily understood. Essentially, in a microorganism that is capable of using it, O2 enables food compounds to be totally digested. This ensures that every possible amount of energy will be used for maintaining the cell. So the aerobic bacteria have the advantage of metabolic efficiency. Aerobic bacteria can create twenty times more energy, with the equivalent amount of organic compounds, than anaerobic bacteria. What is more, aerobic bacteria aren’t generally known to produce horrible odors. One bacteria in the order of Actinomycetales, genus Streptomyces called actinomycetes, generate enzymes with volatile compounds which gives earth a fresh, clean smell. This is the good quality soil we smell when we instinctively hold a fist full of substrate up to our nose. Interesting how harmonious bacteria agree with us instinctually. Life is good! Good life is king. Thank God.

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Optimum Element Levels

Nutrient

Limit in PPM

Avg. PPM

Major Elements

Nitrogen

150-1000

250

Phosphorus

50-100

80

Potassium

100-400

300

Minor Elements

Calcium

100-500

200

Magnesium

50-100

75

Sulfur

200-1000

400

Trace Elements

Copper

0.1-0.5

0.7

Iron

2-10

5

Boron

0.5-5.0

1.0

Manganese

0.5-5

2.0

Molybdenum

.01-.05

.02

Zinc

.5-1.0

.5

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Conversions for ppm, %, mg/kg

1mg/kg = 1ppm

1mg/L = 1ppm

1ppm = 0.0001%

1mg/kg = 0.0001%

1% = 10,000ppm

1% = 10,000mg/kg

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ppm to/from milliSiemens/cm

multiply the milliSiemens/cm reading by 1000 and divide by 2 to get your ppm, or simply multiply by 500

or

divide the ppm reading by 1000 and multiply by 2 to get your milliSiemens/cm reading, or simply divide by 500

Equations and Symbols

Get Up-to-Speed on Microorganisms

Soluable Salt Ranges

Keeping up on your soluble salt range is important. Always have an instrument at hand to check your nutrient levels. The below chart is a general guide as to what levels are acceptable or not.

Desireable

Permisable

Dangerous

EC

.75-2 mS

2-3 mS

3 mS & ↑

PPM

500-1300

1300-2000

2000 & ↑

Electrical Conductivity (EC) of a solution is a measure of ionic compounds dissolved in water. Organic Nutrients are ionic compounds. Another name for ionic compounds is salts. Assuming the water had very little EC before you added the liquid fertilizer, measuring the EC will tell us how much fertilizer we have in our liquid. EC is commonly measured in milli-siemens (mS) and/or Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) expressed in Parts Per Million (PPM). Both will give you the same information of how much fertilizer is in your liquid. The EC and PPM are always in relation. So stating the EC and PPM is redundant. The relationship is 1 EC (measured in mS) = 650 PPM.

About BioChar Pyrolysis

Quote from:
Daniel D. Warnock & Johannes Lehmann & Thomas W. Kuyper & Matthias C. Rillig
"Biochar is a term reserved for the plant biomass derived
materials contained within the black carbon
(BC) continuum. This definition includes chars and
charcoal, and excludes fossil fuel products or geogenic
carbon (Lehmann et al. 2006). Materials
forming the BC continuum are produced by partially
combusting (charring) carbonaceous source materials,
e.g. plant tissues (Schmidt and Noack 2000; Preston
and Schmidt 2006; Knicker 2007), and have both
natural as well as anthropogenic sources. Restricting the oxygen supply during combustion can prevent complete combustion (e.g., carbon volatilization and
ash production) of the source materials. When plant
tissues are used as raw materials for biochar production,
heat produced during combustion volatilizes a
significant portion of the hydrogen and oxygen, along
with some of the carbon contained within the plant’s
tissues (Antal and Gronli 2003; Preston and Schmidt
2006).... Depending on the temperatures
reached during combustion and the species identity
of the source material, a biochar’s chemical and
physical properties may vary (Keech et al. 2005;
Gundale and DeLuca 2006). For example, coniferous biochars generated at lower temperatures, e.g. 350°C, can contain larger amounts of available nutrients,
while having a smaller sorptive capacity for cations
than biochars generated at higher temperatures, e.g.
800°C (Gundale and DeLuca 2006). Furthermore,
plant species with many large diameter cells in their
stem tissues can lead to greater quantities of macropores
in biochar particles. Larger numbers of macropores
can for example enhance the ability of biochar
to adsorb larger molecules such as phenolic compounds
(Keech et al. 2005)."
Check out the entire report at:
Mycorrhizal Responses to Biochar in Soil–Concepts and Mechanisms"

Biochar & Fungi Relationship

Cation Exchange Capacity Information Blurb

The total CEC is impacted by these factors:
Amount of active humus such as compost, Amount of passive humus such as Biochar, The pyrolysis method of the Biochar added, Was the Biochar activated and/or inoculated? The type and amount of microorganisms, and The overall pH